Welcome to the last edition of Life After North!
Writing this column for the past year has been an incredible experience and I am so thankful to the North Star Reporter for the opportunity to share my words.
As always, I will leave you with some unsolicited advice. I will attempt to offer some unsolicited advice. Reflecting on this column, I realized I never focused on one of the most important tools I’ve used: humor.
Comedy has helped me switch my mindset, make the best of unfortunate situations, and forge connections with unlikely friends.
I thought for the last column I would share some reasons why you should incorporate humor in your own life. This does not mean you need to become a comedian – please don’t, I really cannot handle more competition.
If you can’t change it then laugh at it – Slightly humorous advice by your local comic
Funny people are magnets
When I started college, I worried about making friends – something that had never been an issue before. In those first few weeks, everyone is looking to connect, but it is still intimidating.
For me, humor was my secret weapon to lock down friendships. Humor can be used to diffuse tension, break the ice, and simply get people to like you.
No one wants to spend time with the kid constantly ranting about the communal bathrooms. So instead of complaining, make a joke about it. Everyone is in the same boat at the start of the year, so you might as well laugh together.
Laughter is the best medicine
Okay, maybe not the best medicine, but it’s definitely up there.
According to the MayoClinic laughing helps regulate heart rhythm and blood pressure, by decreasing the main stress hormones. The names of these hormones I do not know, but I probably learned in 10th grade anatomy. I can almost guarantee that I spent class crafting my college list (two years in advance). Yeah, I could have used this advice.
Change your perspective to embrace humor
In high school, I was convinced that one poor grade would single-handedly sabotage my entire future. I was a bit…intense.
Now, I laugh at my stupidity, but back then I was one A-minus away from a full-blown cardiac event. If I had learned to shift my perspective sooner, I could have saved myself a lot of panic and my math teacher several frantic emails.
A sense of humor makes you more resilient
Whether you are entering your senior year of high school or freshman year of college, you are bound to encounter some challenging situations. Being equipped with a sense of humor allows you to bound back from minor setbacks.
To develop a sharp sense of humor it is important to spot comedy in your daily life and seek out laughter.
Since I love a good list, here’s five ways to bring laughter into your daily life.
- Read this column. Then go back and re-read the previous ones.
- Watch your favorite sitcom and picture yourself playing the lead.
- Read this column again, but this time, send it to five friends.
- Write down five funny things that happened to you today.
- Realize that reading this column was the highlight of your day.
On that note, thank you to my dedicated readers for following along with me during my freshman year at Boston College. It’s been a privilege to bring a little laughter into your life, and I hope to return to North Star Reporter!